Orders Up At Ulstein

Solstad Shipping AS has ordered a large multi-purpose offshore vessel with a contract value of more than $46 million from Ulstein Group shipbuildng division Ulstein Verft. The new UT742 design will be capable of carrying out a wide range of underwater tasks and will also have the power and winch equipment to be a formidable deepwater anchor-handler.

"This contract underlines Ulstein's role as a pioneer company in the development and supply of advanced specialist vessels," said Brynjulv Mugaas, group director. The UT742 has been developed with close cooperation between Solstad, charterers and t he design division of Ulstein International. Delivery is scheduled for the first quarter of 1999, and Solstad has already been awarded a fiveyear commission for the vessel.

The new vessel will feature a 312-ft. (95-m) long hull, a 79-ft. (24-m) beam, 1,000 sq. m. of working deck space and full dynamic positioning and will be used for subsea installations, light drilling, work on satellite wells, laying pipes between wellheads and platform, ploughing-in pipeline and ROV services. The ship will be fitted with a 150-ton A-frame featuring two moonpools, one for ROV operations and one for general work.

Propulsion power totals approximately 27,500 hp and is provided by four medium-speed main engines geared to twin CP propellers assisted by a 2,000-hp swing-up azimuth bowthruster resulting in a bollard pull of approximately 2,700 tons.

Electrical power is produced by twin 3,500 kW shaft generators and four diesel generator sets totaling 4,800 kW.

With a passenger capacity of 70, the new vessel is the 16th to be ordered by Solstad from Ulstein, and marks the eighth contract Solstad has entered into with Ulstein.

Ulstein Propeller Division Ulstein Propeller Division has received a large order for thruster equipment for a series of 190 ft. (58 m) long offshore supply vessels to be built for Edison Chouest Offshore at Ingalls Shipbuilding's Pascagoula yard. The project is part of a contract under which Ingalls will build a series of seven vessels for Edison Chouest, with an option for seven more, all to be used for operation in the Gulf of Mexico. The contract value for the Ulstein-supplied equipment is approximately $6.6 million, which would double if the option is exercised. Propeller equipment on each vessel comprises two Ulstein 900H Z-drives for propulsion and also features the first application of Ulstein's innovative CombiThruster design which operates in compass as well as tunnel thruster modes. The Z-drives will each be driven by a Caterpillar 3512 highspeed diesels rated for 1,210 hp at 1,600 rpm. The stern-mounted Zdrives are installed with hull mounting modules designed and built by Ulstein. The units feature open fixed pitch propellers of 1,829 mm diameter optimized for operation at an estimated vessel service speed of 12 knots. Also fitted are multi-plate hydraulic clutches and Ulstein's new Z-drive steering pump PTO drive.

Ulstein Maritime has delivered two model 1650H Z-drive thrusters to tug Namahoe, operating in the Hawaiian Islands. Owned by Smith Maritime, the tug is used for inter-island towing and ship assist.

Namahoe's propulsion system consists of two Ulstein 1650H Zdrive thrusters with 86 in. fixedpitch propellers moderating skew for smooth operation and high thrust in bollard condition. The propellers were designed by Nautican Research and manufactured by Finnscrew.

The 1650H model is the first of Ulstein's new modularization arrangement. According to the company, the goal of this arrangement is to drive systems, reduce installation complexity and cost and simplify maintenance. A key feature of this concept is that the main steering pump is gear-driven by the Z-Drive upper gearbox, permitting the steering control system to be mounted on the drive with no components located elsewhere on the vessel.

Namahoe's 1650H features an upper gearbox reduction ratio of 2.7 and a lower gearbox ratio of 2.1, reducing the 1,600 rpm input to a speed of 291 rpm. The 1650 has a maximum rating of 2,400 hp and can accept any input speed from 700 to 2,100 rpm. The vessel also features Ulstein's Z-Con electronic remote propulsion control system, an electronic analogue control which reportedly exceeds ABS, Lloyd's Register and all other class society requirements.